The present invention is directed toward a dental implant and a method for inserting the same and more particularly toward a dental implant and method which allows for substantially more accurate implanting without the trauma normally experienced with known implants.
Dental implants for replacing lost teeth have been known for some time and have been increasing in popularity over the past several years. Unfortunately, most known implants have met with only moderate success.
Most of the dental implants presently in use today are comprised of a wedge shaped blade having a sharp edge. The implant is inserted by tapping the blade into a prepared groove in the jawbone of the patient. Thereafter, an artificial tooth structure is secured to the support portion which extends upwardly from the blade. It should be readily apparent that driving the blade into the bone causes trauma and it is believed that this is one of the main reasons for the failure of the implant. Examples of these prior implants are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,465,441; 3,849,888; 3,977,081 and numerous others.
Devices have been proposed which are intended to be implanted without the use of the above described technique. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,866,321 and 3,881,251 show a device which includes a blade apparently having a flat bottom portion. According to the patents, a narrow cut is first made in the jawbone structure and the blade is then fitted into the cut. However, in order to hold the blade in place, a plurality of injections are formed on each side thereof which force themselves into the side walls of the cut thereby, for all intents and purposes, creating the same trauma that is created in the previously described devices.
A further attempt to overcome the problems of the prior implants is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,883. In accordance with this patent, a cylindrical bore is first drilled into the jawbone and a substantially circularly shaped implant having external threads is then screwed down into the bore. The lower end of the implant is split so that it can be spread apart with the use of a screw which extends upwardly through the implant. While this device would appear to overcome some of the above described disadvantages of the prior art, it has many disadvantages of its own. Of primary significance is the fact that the implant cannot be positioned totally beneath the upper level of the bone because of the screw which extends upwardly from the device.